Michael josephson Its a sign of troubled times when the concept of pressure becomes an acceptable excuse for ethical shortcuts and moral shortcomings. Pressures are just temptations in disguise and its never been acceptable to give in to temptation. Ethics is about the way things ought to be, not about the way things are. When it comes to ethics, motive is very important. A person of character does the right thing for the right reason. Compliance is about what we must do; ethics is about what we should do. Ethical people often do more than the law requires and less than it allows. The area of discretion between the legal must and the moral should tests our character. Noble talk and framed ethics statements are no substitute for principled conduct. The test is doing the right thing.